Demographics of H1N1 hospitalization / fatalities vs. seasonal flu...

[BolivarianHero]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Most+H1N1+hospitalizations+under+Study/2124517/story.html


Of 4,958 people hospitalized with lab-confirmed H1N1 between Sept. 1 to Oct. 10 in 27 states, 53 per cent were people under 25

...

Thirty-nine per cent of hospitalizations are occurring in people aged 25 to 64; only seven per cent are occurring in the elderly.

...

Normally with seasonal flu, about 60 per cent of hospitalizations occur in people 65 and older.

...

Of 292 H1N1 deaths reported from 28 states since Sept. 1, about 24 per cent involved people under age 25. About 65 per cent of the deaths are in people 25 to 64.

Just 12 per cent of deaths from swine flu since Sept. 1 are occurring in seniors 65 and up.

Normally, 90 per cent of flu fatalities occur in people 65 and older

[snagglepuss]

1. 65 per cent of the deaths are in people 25 to 64.

Chilling but very informative. Thanks for posting.

[Barack_America]

2. I fall in that age group.

And I am an asthmatic.

Makes me even more thankful for the H1N1 vaccine I received this morning.

[BolivarianHero]

3. I'm still waiting...

The vaccine is not available yet...The Canadian government just approved it yesterday and the roll out is just beginning now...

What makes me curious is why our governments are purchasing 50,000,000 doses when the country doesn't even have 35,000,000 and we only need a single dose for immunity.

[snagglepuss]

7. It might due to the fact that children need to have two shots, 21 days apart.

[lapfog_1]

4. This is what I've been saying on almost every thread on DU

when someone pipes up with the "it's no worse than normal flu season for fatalities".

It's not the numbers but WHO is going to the hospital and dying from this.

Someone in the old folks home is not a story (even told around the water cooler at work), someone down the hall or in the next cubicle over (or their kid)... that's entirely different.

[BolivarianHero]

5. I'm not worried...

I'm just incredibly curious about what the implications of these demographics will be should the models predicting widespread infection come to fruition.

[lapfog_1]

6. No, the chances of someone dying are incredibly small

they rise significantly if you are a pregnant woman (apparently), but still very small.

However, if 40,000 "young adults" (under 50) die off in the next 4 to 5 months, that's a news story.